This Week's Best-Performing Mining Stocks in Canada: Sirios Resources Leads With 120% Rally

Central bank decisions ripple through Canadian markets as investors digest rate signals from both Ottawa and Washington, reshaping sentiment across resource stocks. Here’s how the top performers stacked up this week.

Policy Backdrop: Why Miners Are Moving

The Bank of Canada wrapped up 2025’s policy schedule on Wednesday (December 10), keeping borrowing costs steady at 2.25 percent following expectations already priced into markets. The decision reflected resilience in Canada’s labor market—November saw 54,000 new positions created and unemployment fell to 6.5 percent, down 0.4 percentage points. Yet there’s a caveat: while third-quarter GDP expanded at 2.6 percent, the Bank signaled weakness ahead as exports slide, with recovery penciled in for 2026.

Across the border, the US Federal Reserve took a different path on December 9-10, cutting rates by 25 basis points to the 3.5-3.75 percent range. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, however, cautioned that the pace of future cuts may slow. More significantly, Powell flagged potential overestimation in employment data—suggesting the Bureau of Labor Statistics may be inflating job creation figures by approximately 60,000 monthly, implying the economy could actually be shedding positions at a net 20,000 per month. This uncertainty reverberated through commodities.

Commodity Moves Fueling Sector Rotation

Gold responded favorably to the Fed cut, gaining 2.44 percent weekly to close at US$4,299.86 per ounce by Friday afternoon. Silver’s story was even more dramatic: a 6.12 percent jump pushed the metal to an all-time high of US$64.65 per ounce in early Friday trading before trimming to US$61.95 by close. Copper, however, retreated 1.46 percent to US$5.37 per pound, while the broader commodities gauge fell 2.63 percent.

The CSE Composite Index spiked 15.63 percent as cannabis stocks soared on reports that the White House planned to reschedule the commodity this week. Meanwhile, Canada’s main equity benchmarks stayed muted—the S&P/TSX Composite edged up just 0.1 percent to 31,527.39, and the TSX Venture Index rose 0.17 percent to 954.61.

The Week’s Top Five Performers

1. Sirios Resources (TSXV:SOI) - Up 120%

Market cap: C$48.26 million | Price: C$0.165

Sirios Resources, a gold explorer operating in Québec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, delivered this week’s headline move. The company’s Aquilon property spans 7,100 hectares and contains over 30 documented gold showings. A December 2022 earn-in pact with Sumitomo Metal and Mining allows the Japanese firm to acquire up to an 80 percent stake through exploration spending and C$14.8 million in cash commitments.

On December 4, Sirios announced drill results from a 13-hole, 5,420-meter campaign completed during summer months. Standout assays included 2.55 grams per metric ton across 4.8 meters, with a concentrated 10.3 g/t interval over 1 meter. Sumitomo bankrolled the work, pushing its investment beyond the C$4.8 million threshold needed to earn 51 percent ownership.

The real catalyst came Thursday when Sirios announced a transformative acquisition of OVI Mining—a private entity spun from Electric Elements Mining (a subsidiary of Osisko Development and O3 Mining). The merger will create a Québec-focused gold developer centered on Sirios’ flagship Cheechoo deposit plus OVI’s Corvet Est and PLEX projects. Jean-Felix Lepage, formerly VP of Project Development at O3 Mining, will lead the combined entity, with Osisko CEO Sean Roosen and VP Laurence Farmer joining the board.

Cheechoo itself holds an indicated resource of 1.26 million ounces (from 34.99 million metric tons at 1.12 g/t average grade) plus 1.67 million ounces inferred (from 42.72 million tons at 1.23 g/t), per an August 2025 technical report.

2. PJX Resources (TSXV:PJX) - Up 82.35%

Market cap: C$26.17 million | Price: C$0.155

PJX Resources, focused on gold, silver, and base metals in British Columbia’s Cranbrook region, announced a significant discovery Thursday. The company revealed a major sedimentary exhalative mineralized system at its Dewdney Trail property. Recent drilling intercepted 63 meters of anomalous mineralization in the Quake zone containing zinc, lead, silver, and critical metals—mineralization styles reminiscent of the historic Sullivan mine that produced over 285 million ounces of silver, 8.5 million metric tons of lead, and 8 million metric tons of zinc.

Additional fieldwork identified boulders 800 meters along strike grading 546 g/t silver, 32.3 percent lead, and 4.89 percent zinc. PJX controls over 50,000 hectares of claims in the region centered on historical production areas, yet significant primary gold deposits remain undiscovered despite past placer production exceeding 1.5 million ounces.

3. Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas (TSXV:EOG, OTC Pink:ECAOF) - Up 78.38%

Market cap: C$99.3 million | Price: C$0.33

Eco Atlantic, an offshore oil and gas explorer, signed a farm-in agreement with Navitas Petroleum on December 4. The deal grants Navitas exclusive options to earn 80 percent of Eco’s 100 percent-owned Orinduik block for US$2.5 million (plus US$2 million upfront), and a 47.5 percent stake in Block 1 offshore South Africa for US$4 million. Upon exercise, Navitas assumes operatorship.

Eco’s portfolio spans Atlantic basin assets: the Orinduik block and 1.3 percent interest in ExxonMobil’s Canje Block offshore Guyana; 85 percent working interest in three licenses (PEL 97, 99, 100) in Namibia’s Wavis basin; and interests in South African blocks.

4. Karnalyte Resources (TSX:KRN) - Up 65.63%

Market cap: C$11.72 million | Price: C$0.265

Karnalyte Resources climbed after releasing an updated feasibility study for its Wynyard potash project in Central Saskatchewan on November 26. The analysis demonstrates economic viability: after-tax net present value of C$2.04 billion, 12.5 percent internal rate of return, 8.8-year payback, and 70-year mine life.

The property comprises three primary leases covering 367 square kilometers east of Saskatoon. Critically, Karnalyte secured an offtake agreement with India-based GFSC committing to purchase 350,000 metric tons annually in Phase 1, with additional 250,000 metric ton commitments post-Phase 2.

5. Triumph Gold (TSXV:TIG) - Up 64.56%

Market cap: C$30.63 million | Price: C$0.65

Triumph Gold develops projects across Canada and the US. Its three Yukon properties (all within the Dawson Range) include flagship Freegold Mountain hosting gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, lead, and zinc; the Tad/Toro copper-gold-molybdenum project; and Big Creek. Northern BC hosts the Andalusite Peak project, while Utah’s Coyote Knoll silver-gold property was acquired in June.

Most recently, Triumph closed a C$1.94 million non-brokered private placement on November 27, providing capital for continued exploration and geochemical surveying at Andalusite Peak and new target delineation at Freegold Mountain.

Market Context: TSX, TSXV, and CSE Basics

TSX vs. TSXV: The Toronto Stock Exchange hosts senior companies with larger capitalizations, while the TSX Venture Exchange serves smaller-cap issuers; many TSXV companies eventually graduate to the senior board.

Scale: As of May 2025, the TSXV listed 1,565 companies (910 mining), while the TSX held 1,899 companies (181 mining). Combined, these exchanges represent approximately 40 percent of the world’s publicly listed mining firms.

Listing costs vary by complexity but typically involve registration fees of C$10,000-C$70,000, accounting/audit expenses of C$25,000-C$100,000, legal fees exceeding C$75,000, and underwriter commissions up to 12 percent. Ongoing expenses include sustaining and additional listing fees, regulatory filing costs, and investor relations spending.

Trading mechanics are straightforward: investors use brokers or investment accounts to buy and sell shares during exchange hours, just as with any other equity market.